CCS Newsletter
January 22, 2021
ADMINISTRATION UPDATE
Dear CCS Families and Community Members,
In school, January is often best characterized as a time of reflection, connection and direction. As we have welcomed students back after the December break during the past few weeks, teachers have focused on supporting students reconnecting with their classmates, reflecting on their learning and using it to set the course for their next steps in their learning journey. Reconnection has included a lot of social-emotional learning opportunities - games, group and partner learning activities, rebuilding and refining routines and thinking about how we best work together. Reflection and direction has been both personal and directly related to learning, as our K-4 classrooms close out our first semester and our middle school classrooms dig back into their units of study!
Our K-4 classrooms are in the midst of our mid-year assessments in literacy and math. Students are proudly showing off their growth and progress as learners. As with all things this year, our assessment window has had to be flexible and we have opened it up - all mid-year benchmark assessments will be completed by February break. This has primarily been done in order to assess students after they finish instruction on the concepts typically taught prior to the middle of the year - we started school a bit later than normal this year, and in a hybrid model. Therefore, we have paced the curriculum as much as possible based on pre-assessment data and closely monitoring the pace of student progress. K-4 families will receive more guidance in next week’s report cards in relation to assessment in our elementary grades.
Some of the highlights from the week center around the stories kids tell us. Whether they are looking forward to going home and playing with a new puppy or planning a snowball attack on their parents (a 5th grade parent should be prepared), your children make us smile. One creative artist couldn’t wait to describe his extinct creature he was designing out of colorful paper. Other students couldn’t resist sharing personal connections or stories as they gave “shout outs” within their final writing pieces with one another. There are so many things in this world they are navigating like never before, we are appreciative of the stories where kids are able to be kids. We hope you can all find time this weekend to laugh, to play and to enjoy your inspiring children.
Kind regards,
Stephanie, Jen and Cassandra
MIDDLE SCHOOL PE - STREET HOCKEY
GRADE 1 PEACEFUL ARTWORK
GRADE 4 SNOWY FUN
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Wednesday, January 27th
Remote Day for All
Wednesday, February 3rd
Remote Day for All
Wednesday, February 10th
Remote Day for All
Wednesday, February 17th
Remote Day for All
Monday, February 22nd through Friday, February 26th
NO SCHOOL - Winter Break
HEALTH AND WELLNESS REMINDER
Please continue to keep your child at home with any symptoms, or if they have had any contact with COVID-19 positive individuals. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
Here is the link to the Health Department guidance that we follow to determine if COVID testing is needed and when students should return to school following illness: Fact Sheet
When your child is sick, please provide specific details when calling in as we are tracking illness trends. Also, please continue letting Nurse Lauren know by either calling 425-2771 or emailing lcalkins@cvsdvt.org when your child is being tested for COVID and also when you receive a result. We need this information before your child can return to school.
OMEGA REMOTE SCIENCE CLASSES
Our Omega Remote Science Classes were excited to learn from Conversation Ecologist Brit Warner today, joining us live from Missoula, Montana to share about her work studying how international conservation efforts can connect with genetics research. She shared an awesome resource you might want to explore called the IUCN Red List - an international collaboration tracking over 100,000 endangered species all over the globe. https://www.iucnredlist.org/
This is part of an overall project based learning unit linking genetics, evolution and ecology into an Art project with Ms. Bresler.
Can’t wait to share some of that work with you all in a few weeks!
8TH GRADE INVITE
CHAMPLAIN VALLEY UNION HIGH SCHOOL
AN INVITATION
To 8th Grade Parents and Students of the Class of 2025
Join us virtually for
8th Grade Student & Parent Night
Champlain Valley Union High School
Online Thursday, February 11, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Hosted by Principal Adam Bunting
and the CVU Student Council
This evening will provide you and your child an introduction to the academic and elective programs they will experience in the 9th grade.
We’ll be live at:
SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH INPUT SESSIONS
The CVSD community may recall from the announcement last summer that Superintendent Elaine Pinckney is retiring at the end of June. The search process for a new superintendent is underway and the Champlain Valley School District’s Board of Directors welcomes the community’s input.
As part of the superintendent search process, the School Board is interested in seeking input from parents and the community in regard to the attributes of the community and school, the issues the new superintendent will face, and what qualities stakeholders would like to see in our new superintendent.
Zoom meetings for the CVSD Community will be held with the Superintendent Search consultant on these dates:
January 26 7:00-8:00pm
January 28 7:00-8:00pm
January 29 12:00-1:00pm
The information needed to access the Zoom meetings is posted on the District’s website.
An online survey will be posted on the District’s website as well. The survey will be open from Saturday, January 23 to Sunday, January 31. The compilation of all comments received will be published soon after the survey closes.
* There will be separate input meetings for teachers, administrators, support staff, and high school students.
We thank you so much for your valuable input!
CCS IS LOOKING FOR MENTORS!
Do you think kids are fun? Does spending time with children bring you joy? Are you interested in giving back to your community? Then you’d probably be a good mentor!
Mentors are caring adults who spend about an hour a week with a student. Mentors bring with them a sense of shared fun, new experiences and great listening skills. Mentors bring encouragement and options for expanding a young person’s regard for themselves and their world. By sharing yourself with your mentee you can inspire them to create a richer future for themselves.
Mentors are distinct members of a team of caring adults who show up for youth in addition to parents, caregivers and teachers.
If you can commit to spending an hour a week with a student through the end of the school year, please be in touch! We would love to hear from you. Please reach out to Joshua Rooney, Mentoring Coordinator at jrooney@cvsdvt.org or (802) 425-6642!
SEEKING SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
PRESCHOOL LOTTERY
Champlain Valley School District School-Based Early Education Programs Preschool Lottery is coming soon!
The CVSD School-based Early Education Programs are now accepting applications for a random preschool lottery drawing for the 2020-21 school year. Our part-time, partial days, preschool classrooms are 5 STARs, licensed early education programs that provide play-based, developmentally appropriate environments for all children in an inclusive setting. Our curriculum is based on the Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS) and Teaching Strategies Gold. We believe that a diverse classroom offers opportunities for adults and children to practice acceptance and compassion and also provides a broad range of learning experiences.
Our programs closely follow the CVSD school calendar. Students who will be age 3 or older by September 1, 2021, but not yet 5 years old, are eligible to enter the lottery for our programs.
All applications must be received by February 5, 2021. You can download an application here: Early Education Lottery Application. More information is available on our CVSD Early Education Website also. Students will be selected via a lottery and families notified in early March.
ParentIN
Being a teen can be tough.
Parenting teens isn’t exactly easy, either.
That’s why we created ParentIN – to empower parents and caregivers of Champlain Valley School District students with the support they need to help their children make healthy choices. Reported substance usage among CVSD students drastically increases each year from 6th to 12th grade. We want you, and your child, to be prepared for what’s to come. ParentIN offers evidence-informed educational tips and resources, community engagement events, and facilitated meet-ups aimed at helping our kids live substance free lives. You know a lot about your child; we know a lot about preventing substance abuse. We are IN this together.
And here is the video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84fsOlNaJaA&feature=youtu.be